With presidential campaign going prime time, it's time to put up your deflector shields for election year scams.Scammers angle for opportunities when their pitches will seem most believable and close enough to the background noise that consumers are less likely to filter them out. One such tactic is the phony public opinion poll.

A new virus posing as an FBI alert is freezing computers and alarming users across the country. Infected computers display a shocking pop-up that tells owners they have illegal materials on their PCs and demands a $200 fine.

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MILITARY CONSUMER

ISSUES & INITIATIVES

The VA Loan Process in Five Steps

Start: Obtain your Certificate of Eligibility. Your lender should be able to get you your certificate of eligibility. However, it is quite easy to obtain this document yourself by downloading, completing, and mailing along with a copy of your DD214. You can access a certificate of eligibility here.

For Service Members Pondering Early Retirement, Costs Can Pinch Home Budget

Amid the ongoing exit of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, more service members are mulling a shift to the civilian work force and asking the key financial question: What will I miss if I walk away from my military pension?

Investment fraud criminals use a wide array of sophisticated and highly effective tactics to get people to part with their money. Learn how to spot those techniques in this video, and help protect not just yourself but friends, neighbors and family members.

Petraeus Gives Alaska Troops Financial AdviceJOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - As a young military couple, David and Holly Petraeus had to have a "hot" car while they were stationed in Italy. Turns out they got a costly lemon in the sporty English Jensen-Healey they chose, the wife of the CIA director and former top U.S. commander in Iraq said Wednesday.

As a partner in the Joining Forces Initiative and DOD Financial Readiness Campaign, BBB Military Line® brings BBB consumer education and services to military personnel (including Reservists and National Guard), retirees, DoD civilians, and their families.